Attention
by TellAllYourFriends
Summary: [TWOSHOT] He has never said more than a simple hello to you. And you have never done anything but nod at him. [COMPLETE]
1. 1

You are the one everyone runs to for help. You are the one everyone goes to for aide. Of course it is your job. It is the job you are paid to do. It is the job you have been doing since the beginning of time.

You know all the cures. You know all the maladies. You know everything there is to know about injuries, sprains, you name it. You get up from your desk to tend to the fourth year with a bad cold. You check up on the sixth year with a broken arm. You give aide to the first year who is missing all his teeth.

Children, you think. Always doing something. Children, you think. Children. You see them every hour of every day. You count the number of children who walk into your wing with three arms or missing a finger. Children. Always doing something. But you have been doing this now, for a long time, so you are used to it.

You don't remember much of childhood. You were always in the shadows, surveying everything around you. You didn't like it. You never did. You remember it being hard, and unhappy. Cold. Childhood was hard for you. It wasn't easy, you know for sure. There was yelling, crying, screaming, hitting. It was the reason why you became what you are. It was the reason you decided to dedicate your life to helping others. You are not happy. You never were and you know you never will be. Spending most of your life in the same place never sounded that appealing to you. But you took the job anyway.

You were once pretty. You once had long flowing hair that flew wildly about your head. But now that hair is tied up and hidden. You once had eyes that captivated everyone who looked into them. But now those eyes are burnt out, constantly cast downwards. You once had a nice figure, with long legs and smooth skin. But now that figure is veiled underneath white robes.

There is some satisfaction that you get out of the job. It is not the look of happiness on a child's face when they find that they will be ok. The satisfaction that you long for during the day comes to you at dinner when you sit with your peers. You sit at the head table, off to the side as you are not that important. Two minutes after you arrive he rushes into his seat, his robes swishing behind him. He doesn't notice you. He eyes the students at the four tables in front of him. It is then you ask yourself why you came. And it is then that you realize it.

He turns to you with a foul look on his face, the look he has had ever since you first met him, and mutters a simple, "Hello." You nod back at him, and you both begin to eat. You smile inside, with glee. That is the satisfaction you receive for all the hard work you do and have done.

You have watched him since you were both younger. Since you were both in school, in fact. He was always angry, always picked on, always teased. You had always longed for the attention he was given. Even if the attention was mean and cruel, you desired it. You were invisible. You were walked over, pushed through and thrown aside. You watched him grow up; to the man he is today. He is bitter about everything, unlike you who have accepted it.

You try and open your mouth to speak, but are flushed with embarrassment when he notices you. He has never said more than a simple hello to you. And you have never done anything but nod at him. Minutes later he stands up abruptly and rushes back to the dungeons, where he spends most of his day. Minutes later, you stand up and sulk back to your wing, where you spend most of the day.

You stare at your window, into the night sky. There is not a cloud in sight. It is as clear as a crystal. You look up at the bright shining moon. The moon casts light onto the lake, the trees and everything around you. It is beautiful, you think. You see a dark figure making its way to the front of the castle. You watch it curiously. A few seconds later a dark stranger walks through the doors to your wing.

You are snapped back into the real world, by the moaning of a child in a bed. The dark figure vanishes and you move toward the child. You hush the boy, humming softly and helping him back under the covers. He looks at you with big brown eyes. You tell him to go to sleep, and you wait by his side until he is fast asleep.

A/N: This is part one of a two part story. Please review!


	2. 2

You sit at your desk hunched over papers. You are scribbling on them, furiously, muttering to yourself. Your hand is shaking and your eyes rapidly moving past each word on each line. All of a sudden, your hand stops shaking and you drop your quill. You stop and take a deep breath. You are sweating and your head is pounding, and feels as if it is about to split open. You take another deep breath. You stop and try to get a hold of yourself, before starting back again on your work.

Children, you think. Always doing something. Children, you think. Children. You see them every hour of every day. You count the number of children who walk into your dungeon with big egos and snotty attitudes. Children. Always doing something. But you have been doing this now, for a long time, so you are used to it.

You don't remember much of your childhood. It either went by in a blur for you or you've just tried hard to block it out. There are many things you wish you could forget. There are many things you wish you didn't remember. The laughing, the taunting, the pointing, the whispering. There are many things you wish you could forget. It was the reason you took the job. It was the reason you decided to spend your life with the creatures that made it a living hell. You know you are not happy. You know you never will be. But you keep at it, trying to put as many people through as much hell as you went through. It was why you took the job.

You never were happy. You never had the contentment you had longed for. You were always doing something wrong. Something bad, but you never knew what that was. You were frustrated with your life. You were angry. People teased you. People laughed. You never knew what was so funny. You never knew why they were laughing. In the beginning you tried to laugh with them, which made the whole thing even funnier to them. You stopped listening to them after a while. You grew tired of everything, and eventually found an effective way to block it all out.

But there is some satisfaction you get from your job. And it's not helping children excel in their education and watching them grow up to be successful. The satisfaction that you long for during the day comes to you at dinner when you sit with your peers. You sit at the head table, off to the side as you are not as important. You arrive at your seat to find her sitting up straight and wide eyed. She hardly notices you. She is staring at the student body sitting at the four tables in front of her. It is then that you ask yourself why you came. And it is then that you realize why.

You turn to look at her and she turns to look at you. You mutter a muffled "Hello" and she nods at you. You quickly turn around from her, as you feel the slightest bit of red fill your pale cheeks. You turn back to stare at your food, and she begins to eat. That is the satisfaction you receive for all your hard work.

You have watched her since you were both younger. She was prettier then, with her long hair flowing over her shoulders. She was livelier then, always watching the things around her. She is still quiet, and never says much. You had always longed for the attention nobody paid to her. You had always wanted to be left alone. Nobody spoke to her, nobody cared what she did. You were the one who was watched and followed. You were the ugly one people noticed and laughed at. She was the one nobody bothered. You watched her grow up to the woman she is today. You watched her grow up to be the lonely woman she is today.

She makes a small noise, as if she is about to speak. You turn to look at her, your mouth full of food. She clears her throat and looks away. She has never done anything but give a simple nod to you and you have never done anything but mutter a simple hello to her. After you have swallowed a bite of chicken you stand abruptly, and rush off without saying a word. You feel her eyes on your back as she watches you pass the corner.

You stare into space. You stare into the oblivion of your office with a stack of papers in front of you. You feel yourself stand up suddenly and feel your legs moving toward the door. You feel yourself walking up several staircases. You feel yourself look up at the clear night sky in the Great Hall. You feel yourself climb up more stairs and you feel yourself stop in front of a pair of doors with the words 'Hospital Wing' across it. You feel yourself push open the two doors and walk into the room.

You are snapped back into the real world by the rustle of papers. You are back in your office sitting in front of a stack of papers. You sigh and dip your quill in ink and begin to scribble on what a student would call 'hard work' but what you would call 'a waste of time.' You finish reading it and write a big 'FAIL' across the top.

A/N: As you have probably guessed the two characters are Madame Pomfrey and Severus Snape. I'm not sure if there is an exact age for either of them, but in this story they went to school together.


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